Lots doin' at the Flaming Gorge! 8.9.10 (ha! 8-9-10!)

So the original plan was to start heading up to the Tetons, but: As we are uber flexible these days, combined with a *really* late start (those in the know may now laugh) combined with a sneak peak at the Flaming Gorge in Utah as we drove through it, convinced us to hang around for at least a night.  And that night turned into two.

But before we got to the Gorge, we made an important stop at the local library in Vernal.  There, the kids pulled books off the shelves and we pulled out our computers for wireless!  Ahhhhh, wireless......Of course we can't check books out of local libraries, but we can enjoy the books while we're there. Analyzer manages to finish entire book/s during our visits, depending on the amount of time we spend there.  Oh, and speaking of reading, I picked up a used book there for 10 cents.  We've also been doing reading on the Kindle for Mac software we downloaded, it's pretty cool.  Yes, we did bring books with us, mainly kid's books, but how many times can they read the same things over and over again? Variety when you can get it good.  Libraries will continue to be important stops on our trip, whether we're somewhere for a day or longer. We so miss our libraries back home....




Anyway, back to the trip - which was gorgeous BTW!

Once at the Gorge we drove through one campsite where S ended up talking with the host.  She told us about a great spot elsewhere at the Gorge that’s right by the water and has very few people, so off we went.  It pays to talk to people. Go figure!

On our way to our soon to be campsite we spotted the Flaming Gorge dam, kinda hard to miss, and decided we needed to head back the next day for the tour.  Anyway, found our spot, down what seemed like a very l-o-n-g and bumpy dirt road (some cabinets flew open in the process but nothing disastrous occured, thankfully!).

Took us at least 45 minutes to back into our site.  If it wasn’t for the help of our hosts I think we never would have made it, or we would have been trying all night......

The site was indeed spectacular.  View of the Crystal clear water, the sage brush covered prairie and the antelope munching on their dinner.  And quiet quiet quiet.  At least until we got there....We liked it so much we decided then and there to stay at least two nights.  On the third morning we packed up and left but ended up regretting it.  We should have stayed at least another night.  Oh well.

Watching the antelope while having breakfast smoothies -



While there we also enjoyed swimming in the cold water, watermelon by the lake and a short trip back to the aforementioned dam....

On top of the Flaming Gorge Dam -

Feeding the fish at the bottom of the dam overlooking the river - those are some pretty fat and lazy fish!

The lake side of the dam -



Oh!  Almost forgot the quote of the week here!  On our first evening there, S took the boys over to chat with the occupants of another RV on the premises.  An older retired proper couple from Texas who had just come down from Yellowstone and the Tetons.  They had a nice chat and S got some decent advice.  After 20 minute of exchanging pleasantries it was time to leave.  They said their goodbyes, turned to go, the old man began walking up the stairs to his RV when Wirlwind suddenly turned around and pointed at the old man’s face and shouted: “You have yellow teeth!”.  The old man startled as S explained to Whirlwind that we don’t say things like that.  The party began to depart again, the old man was about to shut his door when Inventor turned his head and shouted:  “Don’t forget to brush!”.

Thank goodness they packed up and left the next morning so we didn’t have to look them in the eye.  Whether or not they left because of us we’ll never know....... ;-)

“The Unhealthy Truth” by Robyn O’brien - my commentary.

Well, it’s been a long month of packing.  Packing and a bit of great traveling, but now it’s back to business. Well, back to the business of finishing packing and heading out! Finally. We had an amazing time in NY. Wedding, family, sightseeing, the works!

During our travels I was reading this incredibly important book:  “The Unhealthy Truth - How Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It” by Robyn O’brien. If you’re a Mom it’s an absolute must read. If you’re a Dad it’s a must read. If you’re a grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, or anybody who puts food in children’s mouths, not to mention YOUR OWN - it’s a must read.

Now I will admit that I already come from a ‘health’ standpoint in the way live, eat, drink and medicate. At least we try to. Given that but if info I guess you could claim I am somewhat biased. But even if you are a sceptic and a potential nay sayer, you owe it to yourself and the children around you to at the very least read it.  After you've read it, then decide how you will proceed. As I see it, there’s no such thing as too much information even if it’s information you don’t necessarily believe or agree with, initially anyway. Another disclaimer: Though we live in the same area, I do not know Robyn nor do I have any connection to her or her work, other than strongly believing in it that is :-)

So, what’s this book about?

Well, the title’s pretty self explanatory. Specifically though, Robyn discusses how our food supply, and particularly foods marketed directly at children, are more than likely causing the increase in the so called 4-A disorders, a term coined by Dr. Kenneth A. Bock in “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies”.

She discusses ‘food politics’, the history of food ‘manufacturing’ (as opposed to food growing as I see it), the hazards of hormones, artificial ingredients, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and antibiotics (in our foods). She guides us in how to examine studies and so called official websites. Those include all those run by formal associations and often even those government sponsored ones. We learn how to become detectives when determining who’s behind the studies and reccomendations, what money is potentially influencing outcomes and how to open our eyes wide to the revolving door between the government agencies that are meant to protect us (AKA the FDA, USDA, etc.) and the high powered food and chemical manufacturers and their legal representatives, chiefly Monsanto.

Though I had previously known about a lot of what she discusses, what shocked me in particular was the fact that there are American companies out there, big ones, who have changed the ingredients in their products to suit European demands. Europe (among other areas of the world) has insisted upon the removal of a variety of artificial ingredients and marking packaging clearly stating the presence of GMOs. Companies, including U.S. companies, have voluntarily removed various artificial ingredients from foods sold in The United Kingdom. The research that came out of South Hampton University in 2007* and the public concern and demand following it were enough to get those companies moving.

However, and here’s the BIG shocker: The people in this country are apparently not important enough to do the same for!  Here, many companies continue to use GMOs in their products, Kraft continues to use artificial ingredients in it’s Mac and Cheese (among all their other creations) and marking packaging clearly when GMOs are used? Fugetaboutit!

Europeans (among others) have already questioned and realized the hidden potential dangers lurking in our foods AND have done something about it. Us here? Not even close. So so sad, to say the very least, but true.

My impression is that the way things stand now ‘new’ ingredients used in our processed foods seem to be innocent until proven guilty. The so called studies that are conducted on them are for the most part funded by the companies that manufacture them or by researchers who have some kind of financial ties to those same companies. Often, the FDA puts the onus of determining the safety of said ingredient on the manufacturer!!!

Say what?!?!

It’s like trusting a tobacco company’s study on the safety of cigarets, which many many people did of course. Would you do that today????

As Robyn points out, do you really think one can get unbiased results that way?! Are you prepared to be these companies guinea pigs? Are you prepared for your kids to be?! I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like reading about the danger of substance xyz 10 years from now. 10 years after I’ve been loading myself and my kids up with it. Let’s not fall into the same trap we did with the tobacco companies. They claimed their products were safe, they did study after study. They fought their case in court for years and years and years all along claiming their product was safe. Now we know the truth. Do we want to play this game all over again with the food we eat?

I know I sure don’t.

*In case you’re interested in the reference info for this study: D. McCann et al., “Food Additives and Hyperactive Behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old Children in the Community: A Randomised, Double-Blinded, Placebo-controlled Trail,” The Lancet 370, no. 9598 (November 3, 2007): 1524-25.

In case you're interested, another incredibly eye opening and shocking book is "The Secret History of the War on Cancer" by Devra Davis.  Not an easy read by far, but a MUST as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Pre trip musings......STUFF: Just too much of it!

How crap brings about enlightening moments....

While gathering, sorting and packing our crap up for sale/give away, we of course came across many items that I’ve held on to since my children’s babyhood. Things like books, the Fisher Price farm, whinnie the pooh blocks, nap mats. All things I thought I needed to physically hold on to so I could hold on to their babyhoods and not lose it. As we came across the books, we reread them. Books like I Love You as Much, Chugga Chugga Choo Choo, Time to Say Goodnight and Jamberry. Rereading these baby books to them made me realize a very important thing. I always thought I missed those baby years terribly. Not the obviously unpleasant parts like dirty diapers (though I never found them that terrible) and sleepless nights (which I *did* find quite terrible). But I always thought I had longed to have my kids be babies and toddlers again. Longed to be able to hold them with one arm around them on my hip, to burp them, to carry their tiny sweet squishy bodies around and smooch them until some outside distraction made me stop.

Well, come to find out, brace yourselves, shocking news here: I don’t long for those days like I thought I did!!! It’s quite a revelation for me! Turns out I’m more than thrilled with my children at the stages and ages they’re at now. I’ve learned I don’t want them to be babies again (as if that could ever happen anyway). I love love love who they’ve turned out to be and am so excited about who they will go on and continue to become. As I was sitting there reading those baby books to them, I had an important lesson in learning to appreciate the present and not keep looking back to the past longingly. I learned to appreciate them for who they are now. I learned to appreciate life for what it is now. I’m so grateful for that! I have a feeling that if it wasn’t for this purge it might have been a l-o-n-g time before I learned this lesson, if at all. Boy, would I have been missing out on living life in the moment!

I had the honor of holding a 6 week old baby yesterday. Oh the smell, the squishiness, the lightness!  But you know what, I had no longing. I enjoyed every moment with her, but I did not for one second wish I had one that age, nor did I wish my kids were that age again. We’ve moved on people! And we’re thrilled and exhilarated about it to boot.

The other, maybe more obvious, benefit to all this purging, is the light feeling that accompanies it. The release. The freedom. The openness it allows one to experience. Since I’ve now made room in my life for new things (and no, I don’t mean ‘stuff’), new things can now enter my life with ease and much less resistance. That’s a good thing by the way :-)

Rediscovery......

You know what’s amazing? When you remove even just 70% of the crap, um, oops, I meant, toys (!) - kids end up playing with long lost and forgotten crap, um, I mean, toys. Kind of like that whole can’t see the forest through the trees thing. My kids have rediscovered those funky letter foam blocks (you know, the kind that can form somewhat of a foam mat or soft surface). They have spent hours, yes, I do mean hours, today playing with them. Building buildings, paving roads, creating science labs. Give a kid time and space (and removes surpufluous items from their lives!) and they can come up with the world!

Kitchen junky.........

Admittedly, I AM a kitchen gadget/tool junkie. I full on confess to it. But, even given that fact, exactly how many strainer colander thingies does a human being need I ask??? What was I thinking?! As I go through my kitchen and pull out loads and loads of STUFF to sort into 3 piles: Take to the RV, store away and give away - I really realize (can you say that? sounds funny) that I don’t need, nor have I ever needed, a great majority of it all! OK, so maybe I used 90% of the items in this kitchen at least once, but really, the RV pile is pretty small. That means, to me anyway, that most of what occupies my tremendous amount of cabinet space is superfluous! Another realization just hit me though - a lot of what I’m parting with is for cooking, real live cooking with heat. We don’t do much of that anymore for the most part, so if it doesn’t serve a ‘raw’ purpose - mostly, it’s gone baby!

So much for the list.........

OK, I give up. I simply cannot finish a room! I get to the point where I just stand there staring at stuff in various piles. I stare and stare hoping that somehow they’ll pack themselves......and I walk out in disgust. So far, my new system seems to be working better. Do as much as I can tolerate in one area, then move on to a different one. Say! That closet looks like a good thing to tackle now. Sick of sorting towels and sheets? Let’s try the kitchen! Hopefully this system will pan out and all will get done eventually. So much for scratching things off my list as they get done.  At this rate, I’ll only get to scratch things out when we’re walking out the door for the year.....

Mission Accomplished!

As proof, I offer up these photos.

First, the notorious junk drawer.......It's EMPTY!!!!

Second, an emptying living room.....



And finally, The List! It's mostly scratched out!!!